Flushing tank



M DTS EGl EN.

ww DUN July 15 1924.

' @www Dad/@ Reed Patented July 15, 1924.

TES l PATENT GFFICE.

DUDLEY anni), orV CANTON, omo.

FLUSHING TANK.

.Application led November 16, 1921. Serial No. 515,493.

To all whom 'it may cmwem:

Be it known that I, DUnLnY REED, a citizen of the United States,residing at Canton, in the county of Stark and State of Ohio, haveinvented a new and useful Flushing Tank, of which the following is aspecification.

This invention lrelates to iushing tanks such as are used for flushingor lling receptacles or devices of different kinds, and has foritsobjects to provide a iiushing tank which may be connected directly to aservice pipe supplying water under pressure, and which may be operatedto permit the discharge of water from the tank without shutting oif thesource of supply from the service pipe; the outlet from the tank beingcontrolled by a buoyant, hollow ball normally seated in the outlet,means being provided for raising the ball straight upwardl from theseat; an air vent being provi ed in the upper portion of the tank,

a iioat valve being provided for excluding all air from the tank whenthe same is filled with water. y

The above and other important objects may be attained by providing atank having an inverted cone shaped bottom with a central seat tonormally seat the buoyant hollow ball, a" depression being formed in thebottom of the tank at one side of said seat into which the service pipedischarges, a dependin neck connecting the outlet of the tank with thereceptacle or device to be flushed or filled,` a erforated sleeve rbeingslidably mounted within said neck and arranged to be manually raisedthrough a suitable lever device to .unseat the hollow ball when it isdesired to ush the tank, the upper float valve being imprisoned within acage which limits the movement thereof and so arranged that the sainewill not entirely close until all of the air is excluded from the tank,in order to permit easy o-peration of the buoyant, hollow ball, a drainbeing provided in one side of the tank for conveying any water which maybe accidentally discharged upon the top of the tank, into the outletneck.

A preferred embodiment of the invention thus set forth in general termsis illustrated .in the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 1s avertical, sectional view through a flushlng tank embodying theinvention;

Fig. 2, an enlarged, vertical sectional view through the perforatedsleeve;

lig. 3, a section on the line 3 3, Fig. 1; an

Fig. 4, an enlarged sectionv on the line 4 4, Fig. 1.

Similar numerals of reference indicate corresponding parts throughoutthe drawlng. Y

The body of the tank 1 may be of any usual and desired form, beingprovided with the conical bottom 2 at the central portion of which islocated the depending outlet neck 3 having. at its upper end a seat 4 toAnormally accommodate the buoyant, hollow ball 5.

A depression 6 is provided in the lower portion of the tank at one sideof the outlet for the reception of the U-shaped discharge end 7 of theservice pipe 8, which admits water under pressure to the tank.

The inclined or conical bottom of the tank will cause the ball 5 toreadily pass to its seat when the tank is empty. The ball is normallyheld to its seat when the tank is filled with water by the pressure ofthe water and is capable of rising in the water after being dislodged.from its seat in the manner hereinafter more fully described.

An enlarged elbow 9 connects the lower end of the outlet neck 3 with thepipe 10 which communicates with the receptacle or device adapted to beiiushed or filled by the discharge of water` from the tank. A sleeve 11is slidably mounted within the outlet neck and provided with theperforatlons or slots 12 extending to the upper portlon thereof, saidsleeve being arranged to en gage the under surface of the ball todislodge the same from its seat when 1t 1s desired to discharge waterfrom the tank. A saddle 13 is provided in the upper end portion of theperforated slidable sleeve .for engagement with the ball 5, thusellmmating the danger of cutting the surface of the ball by engagementwith the upper edge of the sleeve.

A rock shaft 14 is journaled through the enlarged elbow 9 and providedwith the rock arm 15 located within the elbow and connected by the link16 andwith the sliding sleeve 11, one end of the rock shaft projectsthrough the elbow and is provided with the operating lever 17, theweight of which normally holds the sleeve 11 in the lower posltion inengagement with the shoulder 18, as shown in Fig. 1.

The upper end of the tank is provided with the enlarged central opening19 closed by the cover 20 located upon the upper surface of the tank andconnected thereto in any usual manner as by the screws 2l. This cover isprovided with the central raised portio-n containing theair vent 22communicating with the half round valve seat 23 which is arranged toreceive the float ball 24, said ball being imprisoned within thedepending cage 25 which limits the downward movement thereof and guidesthe ball toward the seat 23.

With this construction, the ball 24: will not close the vent 22 untilall air has been excluded from the tank. This construction has beenfound necessary as difiiculty is experienced in unseating the ball 5while any air remains in the tank, but this ball. may be easily unseatedby the upward movement of the sleeve 11, after all air has been excludedfrom the tank.

An upright annular ange 26 is provided around the upper edge of the tankforming a receptacle to receive any water which accidentally leaksthrough the air vent, and for the purpose of'draining this receptacle, adrain passage 27 is formed in' one side wall of the tank communicatingwith the v upper end of the tank and with the outlet neck 3.

When the tank is filled, the parts normally rest in the position shownin Fig. 1; the ball 5 closing the outlet rom the tank, the operatinglever 17 holding the sliding sleeve down out of engagement with saidball and the ball 24 closing the air vent 22, all air being excludedfrom the tank and the same being entirely filled with water, the weightof the water holding the ball 5 upon the seat 4.

When it is desired to discharge the water from the tank for the purposeof Hushing or filling the receptacle or device connected thereto, theoperating lever 17 is raised, sliding the sleeve 11 upwardly, engagingthe saddle 13 thereof with the under surface of the ball, and at thesame time that the upper edge of the sleeve engages the ball, thusraising the ball straight up, dislodging the same from the seat 4.

The ball 5 being buoyant, will rise to the upper portion of the tank andthe upper end of the sleeve 11 being perforated, the water from the tankwill immediately begin to discharge through said perforations into theoutlet neck of the tank. As the ball rises clear of saidV sleeve, thedischarge, of course, will be through the sleeve 11 to the dischargepipe 10. The lever 17 may incasso be immediately dropped after the. ball5 has been dislodged from its seat.

As the water level lowers, the ball 24 will drop to the bottom of thecage 25, allowing air to enter through the vent 22 to facilitate thedischarge of water from the tank. The ball 5 will drop as the water isdischarged from the tank, the conical bottom of the tank causing theball to seat upon the seat 4 as the tank is emptied.

The water from the service pipe will again fill the tank, the pressurethereof holding the ball 5 seated and raising the ball 24 to close thevent 22 after the air has been excluded from the tank as abovedescribed.

From the above, it will be evident that the flushing tank provided is ofsimple construction, having few working parts, the` operation of whichis controlled by the operating lever. The lower oat ball, being raisedstraight upwardly from its seat at the outlet of the tank, may be easilyand evenly unseated, allowing a rapid discharge of water from the tank.

The construction of the air vent and iloat ball closing the same beinarranged to exclude all air from the teni before the ball is seated,allows the lower ball to be easily unseated as there is no air pressurewithin the tank to prevent the lower ball from being easily unseated.

l claim:-

1. A ushing ory lling tank connected with a water supply and provided inits bottom with a valve seat, a oat ball within the tank and 'adapted toseat itself upon said valve seat when the tank is empty,

a neck beneath said valve seat and a per-5 forated slidable sleevewithin said neck arranged to engage said ball yto unseat the same, saidsleeve having a saddle at is upper end for engagement with the ball.

2. A flushing or llin tank connected with a water supply an provided inits bottom with a valve seat, a ioat ball within the tank and adapted toseat itself upon said valve seat when the tank is empty, a neck beneathsaid valve seat and a per forated slidable sleeve within said neckarranged to engage said ball to unseat the same, the upper portion ofthe tank having a concaved valve seat and an air vent communicatingtherewith, a flange surrounding said vent forming a receptacle, a drainpassage connecting said receptacle with the outlet neck, and a secondfloat ball arranged to be seated in said concaved valve seat to closesaid air vent, after all air has been excludedl from the tank.

DUDLEIY REED.

